Sassafras’s Wisdom

Chase, Chuck, Charlie, and Sassafras were tromping through the wooded areas of their local park on a hot summer day. They were as alive as alive can get; with good wriggley energy pulsing through their young bodies. Unofficially, they were known as The Three Muskeeters–at least that’s what the crooked plywood sign read above the entrance to their tree fort. Sassafras had recently joined their merry gang, but they had yet to get around to changing the sign to “four.” The three boys, the “C’s,” had been friends since meeting at grade school a couple of years earlier.

The goodies–of licorice, chips, and pop–had long ago been devoured. Now it was time for serious talk, the get-down-to-business part of their outing.

“Let’s take turns sharing what we want to be when we’re grownups!” exclaimed Chase.

“Sounds good,” said Charlie, “but we gotta vote on it.”

With that, the children’s hands spiked upward, signalling that the proposal had carried.

“I wanna be a tax collector,” said Chuck. “It’s government, don’t you know; so at least there’s security. I also hear that the benefit package is quite attractive, with an indexed pension.” The other two boys nodded seriously and gave their thumbs up.

“I wanna be a mortician,” said Chase. “People are always dying–you hear of it on the TV almost every day; so business should be steady. If I salt away some savings on a regular basis and make some savvy investments in a diversided stock portfolio, I think I could do quite nicely.”

“Makes sense,” said the boys in serious agreement.

Next was Charlie. “I’m gonna be the owner of a tech startup. I’ll make sure that I get a ton of options in our initial public offering of stock and make a financial killing when I sell at the peak. That’s a flagpole formation on a trading chart, in case you didn’t know. I’ll make sure to set up an offshore business to evade any unnecessary tax burden, and I’ll probably be a billionaire before I’m thirty, if I play my cards right.”

“What about you, newbie,” chimed the boys to Sassafras. “What do you want to be?

“True to her deeper nature, Sassafras paused and allowed herself a few moments of contemplation before answering: “I think that being born a human being is very special,” she said, “so I want to make the most of it. “I just want to be happy, and I figure that the best way for that to happen is to follow my heart.”

“Nahhhh,” exclaimed the boys! “Seriously, what to you really want to be?!”

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones), press here. My YouTube videos can be found at Think2wice@I-Am-Aware. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. “Thank You” & “Note to Publishers” 🙏🏻🧡

Light Prevails

The following is “actual” radio communication that was recorded via satellites functioning for Awareness One. I apologize for the poor sound quality:

***

Triple6: “Ccssshh, come in, Bastard Child. This is Triple6.”

Bastard Child: “Go ahead, Triple6.”

Triple6: “Ccssshh. There’s been a breach.”

Bastard Child: “Go ahead, Triple6.”

Triple6: “Ccssshh. I say again, ‘there’s been a breach.'”

Bastard Child: “Let’s try this one more time. Say again.”

Triple6: “Ccsshhh. THERE’S BEEN A BREACH!”

Bastard Child: Dead line. Buzzzz.

Triple6: “Redial.”

Bastard Child: “Hello, you’ve reached Diablo Incognito. Your call is important to us. All of our Dark Operators are busy right now, but if you care to stay on the line, we’ll have our way with you as soon as possible. Directory options include: Press 1, to enroll in current Dark Classes101; Press 2, for Upcoming Evil Events; Press 3, for Despicable Deeds; Press 4, for Greed/Corruption/Propaganda; Press 5, for Egotistical Leaders of Our Time; Press 6, for all other inquiries. We’re experiencing heavier than expected call volume at this time. Expected wait time is two-and-a-half hours. Key muzak: The Devil In The Blue Dress.Triple6: (Lights a cigarette, bites his nails, taps his fingers). A finished pack later: Muzak ends:

Bastard Child: “How may I help you?”

Triple6: “We’ve experienced a tear in our narrative.”

Bastard Child: “How big a tear?”

Triple6: “Large–waist to crotch. We are officially exposed.”

Bastard Child: “Are you saying, worldwide?”

Triple6: “Confirmed, worldwide. They know.”

Bastard Child: “Who’s they?

Triple6: “The Awakened.”

Bastard Child: “Any chance that synchronized media patches could cover?”

Triple6: “No possible way.”

Bastard Child: “Be advised, this call never happened; this call never happened; this call never happened.”

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

“The Touch Of God”

I offer the following poem:

***

Once upon a time,

The silent voice of the Lord sang through His people;

And hearing His glorious song,

They were changed, dramatically.

In the NOW of eternity,

They recognized their true nature--they were of Him;

Thus, they realized that they, too, must be Holy!

Gladdened, they also learned 

That their world became more loving

When they ensured that His mark

Was left upon everything they touched.

***

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones–released September 8, 2020), press here. My YouTube videos may be found through this link. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. 🙏🧡

“Thank You” & “Note to Publishers”

A Tear From The Divine

Bruno did not cry, ever. For as long as he could remember, he had believed that crying was a sign of weakness; and he, Bruno Steinbeck, was a strong man. The narrative that played in Bruno’s mind was, “I am a man with whom to be reckoned. If you mess with me, you will find yourself in a big mess.” A body builder, Bruno trained at the gym five days a week, lifting ever-increasing weight. When his body had refused to comply with his demand of “more, bigger muscles,” he had forced it to submit to his will through the use of steroids. He would show the world his strength, or die in the attempt.

Outside of the gym, Bruno was also a force with which to be reckoned. The notion of conquest that he applied to weights in the gym also applied to his relationships and the women he dated. How good it felt to have attractive women hanging on his arms. In business, he also applied a motto of beat or be beaten. Earth was a competitive arena, with no room for losers; it was survival of the fittest. On a superficial level, life felt very good; but there was a yet-to-be recognized level of suffering lurking beneath the surface.

As part of his training, Bruno often posed in front of full-length mirrors to study the shape and size of his muscles. It was during one such posing session, that Bruno noticed one lone tear suddenly run down his right cheek. He was holding weights at the time, so there was nothing he could do to hide it. Would other body builders see it?! There was the tear…trickling downward, until it reached his upper lip. As quickly as he could, Bruno set down the dumbbells he had been holding and wiped the tear aside with his palm. Unnerved by the bizarre occurrence, he left the gym early that day.

***

That night, just before Bruno drifted off to sleep, “That” which sent the tear to him at the gym, spoke to him softly but clearly. It seemed as though he was feeling the words emanate from the pillow beneath his head: “Dear child, “It said, “you’re carrying too much burden. Put down your weight and awaken to That which you really ‘are.’ You’ve been dreaming your so-called life; of apparently being a muscular man named Bruno, who is six-feet tall. Please listen to me now; you’ve ignored Presence far too long. Give rest to your innocent ignorance and awaken to Truth. You cannot possibly be who you ‘think’ you are; that is delusion related to your egoic self. To know the lasting peace that ‘passes all understanding,’ you must know thyself.”

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Good Reason To Hate

(Note: It is highly likely that this will be my shortest article). With reference to the title of this article, I offer the following:

***

None.

***

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Tony’s Parrot

Once upon a time, there was a lonely middle-aged man named Tony. He’d had several brief relationships; but for reasons unknown to him, they always ended abruptly. The women knew, however; there was an aura about him which they found very unappealing. At one point, Tony’s loneliness became so severe that he decided to purchase a parrot for company. Off he trudged to a local pet store. When he returned home with the parrot, which he named Billy Boy, he hung the birdcage on its stand in front of the television. He reasoned that Billy Boy would, thus, have something to watch while it was locked up in its cage.

None of Tony’s neighbours knew what he actually did for a living. To one, he had claimed to be a rocket scientist; to another, a health professor; and yet another, a political leader. All they knew for certain was that Tony was gone…all day long.

One day, after leaving the T.V. attuned to a non-stop business news program, he returned home and was pleasantly surprised to hear Billy Boy talking. He raced to be at his side.

“The DOW is down, the DOW is down!” squawked Billy Boy, as it shuffled side to side on its perch.

Tony was so impressed that he rewarded Billy Boy with some brown rice, his favourite food.

The next week, Tony returned home and was overjoyed when he heard Billy Boy had learned some more new words.

“The market’s going to crash! The market’s going to crash!” cawed Billy Boy.

Again, Tony rewarded Billy Boy with some more food. This time, he gave Billy Boy steamed vegetables, which he gobbled up.

The following week, Tony returned home; and before he had removed his coat, he heard Billy Boy sing, “Bitcoin’s a buy! Bitcoin’s a buy!”

With tears of joy, Tony approached Billy Boy and embraced its cage. How he loved his little bird, the partner for which he had longed.

***

If persons had heard Billy Boy spew its news about business, they might have assumed that Billy Boy was quite bright–perhaps even a business genius, trapped inside the body of a parrot. We of course, know better; for we realize that Billy Boy was just parroting what it had been programmed to repeat. There was no thinking involved.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

“Thank You” & “Note to Publishers”

Good Rumblings at “The Place”

Tom and Jerry, who were caretakers at The Place, had sneaked out the back door for a smoke. They had worked hard for the previous few days, in preparation for the spiritual gathering that had begun only a half hour prior. As rules governing social attendance had been dismissed, The Place was packed to the rafters with one thousand men, women, and children.

“Should be a quiet night,” said Jerry, after he exhaled a deep draw from his cigarette, “I don’t think those spiritual folks will get too rowdy.”

“Yup,” said Tom, “clean up should be a breeze, too.”

They continued to puff and chat; but within the next few minutes, they noticed a groundswell of sound from behind them. They could actually feel it; it pulsed through the air as though by its own life.

“What the heck…” began Jerry.

“…is going on?” finished Tom. With that, both men stubbed their cigarettes beneath their boots and went back inside and climbed the iron stairs that led to a small overhead viewing platform.

Below them, a woman holding a microphone was jubilantly shouting questions. She moved with electrified vigour upon the stage.

“What’s The Center of your life?” she cried, with a triumphant wave of her free hand.

From the crowd (consisting of persons who were rising to their feet in increasing numbers) came the powerful reply: “God Is!” In unanimous agreement, they accentuated their replies with a loud “Thump, Wump” stomp of their feet.

“And where is The Center?”

“Wherever I Am!” Thump, Wump!

“Is The Center in you?”

“Oh, yes!” Thump, Wump!

“Is The Center in your neighbour?”

“Yes, there, too!” Thump, Wump!

“Is there anywhere that The Center isn’t?“

“Nooo!” Thump, Wump!

As the sound continued to build in intensity, Tom and Jerry looked at each other, stunned by the appearance of persons young and old being moved by the Spirit of Truth.

“I’ve heard rock bands quieter than this!” shouted Jerry, with a hand cupped aside his mouth.

“Me, too!” shouted Tom.

Again, the woman on stage urged the crowd onward: “Where is The Center?”

“Everywhere!”

Leaning forward, she filled her lungs to the brim, then turned and cried, “I can’t hearrr you!”

“EVERYWHERE!” came the thunderous reply. Thump, Wump!

“And where does IT end?”

“Nowhere!” Thump, Wump! Thump, Wump!

“Is it your essential nature?!”

“Yes,” cried the crowd, “oh, yes!” Thump, Wump!

With the last reply, Tom and Jerry turned from the platform and made their way outside for another smoke. “Crazy kooks,” muttered Jerry. “I second that!” exclaimed Tom, raising his hand. It was time, they agreed, to break out the bottle of whiskey that they had stashed behind a panel for just such an emergency.

***

What Tom and Jerry didn’t realize is that the Omnipresent God that the people were celebrating is often referred to as Consciousness. It has been described as a sphere, whose center is everywhere and perimeter nowhere. It is “That,” the one-and-only Power which was actually empowering Tom and Jerry’s freedom to deny Its very existence. Due to innocent ignorance, Tom and Jerry were unintentionally “prodigal sons.” If they grow weary enough of the world, Grace might gently nudge them to look within and discover their true nature. Conversely, they might continue to cope with life’s apparent challenges through bottles of malty distraction. Regardless of the outcome, All is ultimately good.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Mountain Peak Michelle

Gary’s life had been gaining downhill momentum for years. In rare moments of reflection, he often described his earthly existence as the three D’s: divorce, disaster, and despair. One day, he encountered a spiritual seeker who told him of an eccentric guru named Mountain Peak Michelle. It was rumoured that she could help a person solve most, if not all, of life’s problems through her esoteric understanding.

In a last-ditch effort to save himself, Gary sold all of his belongs and set out to find her. After a long and arduous journey (the type we read of in books about Shangri-La), Gary finally reached the mountain peak cave in which Michelle lived. Winded and cold, he found her meditating in a lotus position. She appeared ninety years of age, if a day. For some strange reason, she was wearing a faux leopard-print dress. Before her eyes opened, she said, “Welcome, Gary, I’ve been expecting you.”

Dumbfounded, Gary gently sank to his knees in front of her. “How could you know?” he asked.

“The technique is really quite simple,” she said, with a smile.

“Please help me,” said Gary.”I feel so deeply lost. Whichever way I go leads to ruin. Why must I suffer so?”

Squinting, Mountain Peak Michelle leaned forward and said, “Because you know not What you are.”

“Come again?” said Gary, perplexed.

Mountain Peak Michelle rolled her eyes, her head following in a slow corkscrew. “I said, BECAUSE YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU ARE!’ ARRR YOU DEEEF?!”

“Not at all,” said Gary. “I apologize. I just don’t understand.”

“This will go much better if you pay attention,” said Mountain Peak Michelle, as she wagged a finger at Gary.

“Yes, M’am,” said Gary, with a bow of his head.

“Have you been concerned, as are most humans, with getting?”

“Yes,” said Gary, “very much. I got more money,–more cars, houses, and relationships; but the pleasures from them didn’t last. All of them brought only a brief respite from suffering.”

Mountain Peak Michelle set aside her immediate thought–“No $h@t, Sherlock!”–in favour of a wiser, more compassionate reply: “This is the way of the world,” she said. “If we seek happiness in objects and circumstances, we will be chasing happiness forever. In Proverbs 4:7, it’s stated: Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. When you discover What–not who–you are, your suffering will greatly diminish. Our main purpose here is to recognize our higher nature.”

Gary eyes were as big as Frisbees. “I climbed a mountain range for this!” he exclaimed. Abruptly, he stood, turned to Mountain Peak Michelle and said: “I came here for help. I thought you were going to give me something–anything!–that could help me!”

With a compassionate gaze, Mountain Peak Michelle calmly said, “I cannot possibly give you what you already ARE.” And with that, Gary turned and descended the mountain.

***

Note: For readers who may believe that Mountain Peak Michelle’s advice was trite at best, or seriously lacking any worthwhile content at worst, I offer this: Michelle was attempting to point Gary toward realization of the Substance of his Being. Such is often termed “enlightenment;” which means to awaken from the dream of personhood. A good way to begin this inner process is to be still (meditate) and know that I Am God.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

All Knowers on Deck

WEE-Oww; Wee-Oww; Wee-Oww: To the knowers, the piercing stabs of the blaring sirens was incredibly painful–eardrums threatened to rupture. Intuitively, they realized that the alarms signalled a perilous world situation of the highest magnitude. At heart level, they felt the following message: “All knowers on deck! Report to the bridge, Now! What ensued was the sound of stampeding footfalls and near misses as knowers raced to duty. At the bridge, aka Central Control, the dial gauges reported a dire situation, indeed:

Degree of Unconsciousness: Red alert. Levels of unconsciousness and risk of threatening behaviour nearing an all-time high. Danger of increasing chaos.

Persons-Knowers Ratio: Deeply egoic. Number of frightened egos dramatically increasing as unfounded fears reach insane levels.

Degree of Forgetfulness: Almost total. State of prodigal amnesia of the masses in full swing across nations. Some awakening occurring.

Propaganda Meter: Very high. Persons with opposing views broadly censored and subjected to ridicule and unjustifiable punishment for refusing to get in step with the program.

Dream Immersion: Situation critical. The majority of persons deeply asleep. Reaching bottom may occur.

***

Dear Readers: To those of you who as yet don’t realize that this–right now–is, indeed, a collective dream, I offer the following four passages from various books to help you knowingly re-awaken to Truth.

The first is from The Heart of Sufism, by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

The second is from A Course In Miracles:

The third is from Thought Power, by Swami Sivananda:

The fourth is from The One in The Mirror, by Ramesh S. Balsekar:

***

With expressions that reflected the pain of the worldwide situation, the knowers looked at one another and steadied themselves within. They realized that to rise out of the darkness that’s currently enveloping the world, they must maintain a positive vision and respond appropriately, with Love.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Namaste-Not World Government

Namaste (loosely translated as): Salutation, Bow to you, “I honour the Greatness within you“

***

Soul, calling to be heard: “Ringgg. Ringgg. Ringgg.”

NNWG, recorded message: “Thank you for calling. You’ve reached Namaste-Not World Government. All of our Habitual State operators are asleep right now, but we’d like to assure you that here at Namaste-Not World Government, ignoring you–and your concerns–is of utmost importance. We take denying your innate Greatness and so-called civil liberties very seriously, indeed. Please stay on the line; please stay on the line; please stay on the line.” Buzzz.

Soul, calling to be heard: “Ringgg, Ringgg, Ringgg.”

Soul, calling to be heard: “Ringgg, Ringgg, Ringgg.”

***

Isn’t it time to bring a ~~little~~ LOT more HEART to our world?

When better than NOW?

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Think2wice

CONSCIOUSNESS, SPIRITUALITY, & LAW OF ATTRACTION

Sassafras’s Wisdom

Light Prevails

“The Touch Of God”

A Tear From The Divine

Good Reason To Hate

Tony’s Parrot

Good Rumblings at “The Place”

Mountain Peak Michelle

All Knowers on Deck

Namaste-Not World Government

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